SAN DIEGO – Luca Sbisa lay flat, stomach and hips glued to the ground, taking the prone position with his left leg extended and right knee bent.

His weight was on his elbows, nerves on edge. His left hand reached forward, steadying the M4 service rifle and bracing the 30-inch-long, 7-pound carbine weapon against the pocket of his right shoulder.

His right cheekbone was snug against the gunmetal of the rifle stock. His right eye focused hard, peering through the 4x32 scope rifle combat optic at his three-ring target on the berm 200 yards away.

His right index finger brushed the trigger.

Before a recent Friday at the Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, this bone-ratting, hard-checking hockey player had never held a gun. He had never pulled a trigger, never thought about shooting someone in the heart or head, or worse, killing.

When his hands eased his scope's red tip, lines and notches over his target, Sbisa – heart racing, breath steady and aim sharp – fired. The gun kicked back a little.

And he missed low. Then lower. Then left. Then right. Then high. He nearly hit dead center ... on his 20th shot.

"It's not easy," said Sbisa, shaking a handful of spent artillery casings after taking 30 shots at the same MCAS Miramar range where about 6,500 Marines come each year to qualify on M4 rifles and M9 pistols.

"These Marines have to put so much work into training and preparing to be ready to do their job. It's special for me to be able to see that."

Sbisa's position on his frozen battlefield is defenseman for the Anaheim Ducks, but when you live in a professional athlete's bubble, you don't often have reason to consider what "defenseman" might mean outside of the hockey rink.

No matter how much you stretch the sports-is-war metaphor, Sbisa's sporting life can't compare to that of a soldier who serves in defense of his country.

Sbisa realized this when he, Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau and assistants Brad Lauer and Bob Woods made the 85-mile trip south to tour and participate in training sessions at the MCAS Miramar.

Fighter jets ripped through the overcast sky. C-130s rumbled in the tarmac. Sentries guarded the entrances. Fences crowned with spiraling razor wire surrounded the base, whose buildings sprawled toward the horizon in the same spartan shape (cube) and color (beige) regardless of function.

Riding in the passenger van, Boudreau and Woods recalled the high military presence in Washington, D.C., while on the Capitals' staff in 2010 and 2011. Meanwhile, Sbisa, staring out the window, was in foreign territory.

The eye-opening visit was arranged by Defending the Blue Line, a nonprofit organization that encourages military children to play hockey while their parents are preparing for deployment or serving away from home. The organization sponsors teams, awards $500 grants to pay league fees and provides equipment.

Boudreau and his wife, Crystal, made a $10,000 donation to the organization, whose Washington, D.C., chapter is led by close family friend Margaret Anne Erwin and her husband, Lt. Col. Jay Erwin.

"We're so happy to be here and grateful for the sacrifices the military makes," said Boudreau, who by living up to his nickname, "Gabby," helped keep the mood upbeat during the military working-dog demonstration, target practice, climb to the air traffic control tower and ride on the V-22 flight simulator.

The Ducks began the day behind the "Off-Limits Danger" signs on the base's kennel, where German shepherds, Dutch shepherds and Belgian Malinoises are trained to aid military police and to sniff out weapons caches, explosives and drugs "like toppings on a pizza," the kennel master said.

"I'm hungry," Boudreau said, rubbing his belly.

Sbisa held up his iPhone to capture video of Astor – or was it Satan or Ralf? – charging and attempting to take a chunk out of the forearm of the acting assailant, who ran like a geared-up hockey goalie on grass in his tactical bite suit.

Ducks defenseman Luca Sbisa fires an M4 rifle at Hancock Range at the Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego on Friday, Aug. 24, 2012. MARCIA C. SMITH, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau, during his visit to the Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego on Friday, Aug. 24, 2012, gets thanks from Defending the Blue LIne founder and president Shane Hudella, whose non-profit organization encourages miliitary children to play hockey while their parents are preparing to be deployed or are serving overseas. Boudreau presented Hudella with a $10,000 donation. Boudreau and his wife, Crystal, have known about Defending the Blue Line through Lt. Col. Jay Erwin and his wife, Margaret Anne Erwin, who ran the Washington D.C. chapter when Boudreau was with the Capitals. PHOTO COURTESY THE DUCKS, TEXT BY MARCIA C. SMITH, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Ducks defenseman Luca Sbisa, left, and Ducks assistant coach Bob Woods watch a military police dog attack an assailant in a tactical suit during a demonstration during their visit to the Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego on Friday, Aug. 24, 2012. MARCIA C. SMITH, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Lt. Col. Daniel J. Levasseur welcomes Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau, defenseman Luca Sbisa, assistants Brad Lauer and Bob Woods (not pictured) to the Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego on Friday, Aug. 24, 2012. Levasseur says the it is very helpful for Marines to be able to visit with hockey players and for their children to "get their arms around" a sport like hockey while their parents are deployed. PHOTO COURTESY THE DUCKS, TEXT BY MARCIA C. SMITH, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau and defenseman Luca Sbisa are surprised to see the bruised and scarred arms of the K9 trainer at military working dog kennel during their visit to the Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego on Friday, Aug. 24, 2012. MARCIA C. SMITH, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Ducks assistant coach Brad Lauer tests his aim on the standard issue M16A4 at the Indoor Simulated Marksmanship Trainer during his visit to the Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego on Friday, Aug. 24, 2012. MARCIA C. SMITH, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Neither Ducks defenseman Luca Sbisa, second from left, nor Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau,center, had held a gun in his life until each handled an M16A4 at the Indoor Simulated Marksmanship Trainer during their visit to the Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego on Friday, Aug. 24, 2012. MARCIA C. SMITH, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Ducks assistant Bob Woods gets instruction on firing the M4 at the Hancock Range during his visit to the Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego on Friday, Aug. 24, 2012. MARCIA C. SMITH, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Ducks defenseman Luca Sbisa sets his sights on his target 200 yards away during his visit to the Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego on Friday, Aug. 24, 2012. MARCIA C. SMITH, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Ducks defenseman Luca Sbisa signs autographs for Marines after he takes target practice during his visit to the Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego on Friday, Aug. 24, 2012. PHOTO COURTESY THE DUCKS, TEXT BY MARCIA C. SMITH/THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
During his visit to the Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego on Friday, Aug. 24, 2012, Ducks defenseman Luca Sbisa looks over his performance at the Hancock Range. He shows his natural abilty by hitting the near the center with a large grouping of shots. He had never fired a gun before the visit. PHOTO COURTESY THE DUCKS, TEXT BY MARCIA C. SMITH/THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Ducks pose with Defending the Blue Line president Shane Hudella (back row, second from left) and members of the San Diego Jr. Gulls Mite division team outside the operations building during their visit to the Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego on Friday, Aug. 24, 2012. PHOTO COURTESY THE DUCKS, TEXT BY MARCIA C. SMITH/THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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